Hydrodynamic Modeling Applications: Toronto Case Studies

Hydrodynamic modelling approach has been widely applied nowadays. Once a hydraulic model is well developed, it can be used to provide the information on the hydraulic performance of the water system that is useful for water planning and management. In this paper, two case studies in the City of Toronto are presented. The first case study illustrates the application of sewer network model to assess the sewer capacity of the existing sanitary sewer network in Jane-Finch area under present and future growth conditions. The assessment results are helpful for sewer asset planning to meet the demands for the planned future growth in this area.

Defining the best operation of a gate in the City of Toronto Interceptor system is presented in the second case study. This is a complex sewer system having many ancillaries such as weirs, gates, orifices, valves, and pumps. The Interceptor system comprises of Low Level Interceptor (LLI) intercepting the flow from 1,250 ha, High Level Interceptor (HLI) having a service area of 1,550 ha, Mid Toronto Interceptor (MTI) collecting the flow from 3,830 ha, and the Lakefront Interceptor receiving the flow from 256 ha. A hydrodynamic model in which a Real Time Control (RTC) process was applied to the gate operation was developed for the complex City’s Interceptor system. Based on the model results, the best strategy of gate operation in terms of minimizing/preventing the reverse flow from MTI to LLI while maximizing the relief for LLI under high flow conditions was identified.